Chapter 212

The Garden was owned by Yinsen, who was also one of Griffin’s old friends. So Yinsen must have comped the meal as a favor to Griffin. A mix of complicated emotions flashed through Vincent’s eyes.

By the end of dinner, Anastasia and Mr. Lewis had pretty much sealed the deal. Everyone tactfully avoided mentioning Narissa’s dramatic exit–nobody wanted to lose their appetite again.

Anastasia and Vincent walked the Lewises out. That’s when Narissa suddenly appeared, looking like she’d been through absolute hell.

She charged at Anastasia like a woman possessed. “You fucking bitch! What did you do to me?”

Anastasia smoothly dodged and grabbed Narissa’s wrist in one fluid motion. “Karma’s a real bitch, isn’t it?”

Narissa’s face went ghost white. Holy shit, does she know I drugged her coffee? But she’d been so careful – how the hell could Anastasia have figured it out?

A sleek black car suddenly pulled up right in front of them. The passenger window rolled down, revealing Griffin behind designer sunglasses.

“Ana, get in,” he said casually.

Anastasia paused for a split second, but when she caught Griffin’s subtle glance toward the backseat, it all clicked. Cassian was definitely back there.

“Sure thing,” she said, walking over and sliding into the car without hesitation.

Narissa and Vincent both craned their necks, trying to see inside. If Anastasia was hooking up with Griffin, why wasn’t he sitting in the back with her? Who the hell was back there? But before either of them could get a decent look, Anastasia had already slammed the door.

The car peeled out, leaving them standing there like idiots.

Narissa and Vincent stared at each other. Narissa’s face was pure venom. “You think that little snake is gunning for your job?”

“That girl’s dangerous. Way too hungry for power.”

Vincent had been silent, but Narissa’s words really hit home. She wasn’t wrong – Anastasia was clearly playing to win. She’d dropped the Griffin connection without blinking just to wow the clients.

At dinner, Anastasia had completely owned the conversation with the Lewises, talking about everything from modern art to luxury market trends. Vincent might as well have been furniture.

He’d never realized someone like Anastasia was so well-rounded. Her confidence was honestly kind of sexy. Even he couldn’t help being drawn to her.

But he knew he didn’t stand a chance. With Griffin Orlando in the picture, she wouldn’t even notice him. Plus, there was a real risk Anastasia would steamroll right over him on her way to the top. He could end up getting booted entirely.

If that was how this was gonna play out, he sure as hell couldn’t let her stick around.

Narissa could read Vincent like a book – she knew she’d gotten through to him. Time to seal the deal. She swayed closer with her usual moves.

But the second she got within arm’s reach, Vincent’s face twisted in absolute disgust and he slapped his hand over his nose. “Jesus Christ, stay back! You reek!”

Narissa stopped dead in her tracks, automatically doing a sniff test. “That’s impossible! I took like twenty showers….” She’d basically power-washed herself raw.

Vincent stumbled backward like she had the plague. “Call yourself an Uber or something.”

He turned and basically ran for his life.

Narissa stood there seeing red, stomping her heels so hard on the pavement she nearly shattered them.